Back علمنة Arabic Секулярызацыя (сацыялогія) Byelorussian ধর্মনিরপেক্ষকরণ Bengali/Bangla Secularització Catalan Sekularizace Czech Sekularisering Danish Säkularisierung German Sekulerizasyon DIQ Εκκοσμίκευση Greek Sekularizo Esperanto

Secularization

For other uses, see Secularization (disambiguation).

In sociology, secularization (British English: secularisation) is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level."[1] There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism, irreligion, nor are they automatically antithetical to religion.[2] Secularization has different connotations such as implying differentiation of secular from religious domains, the marginalization of religion in those domains, or it may also entail the transformation of religion as a result of its recharacterization (e.g. as a private concern, or as a non-political matter or issue).[3][4]

The secularization thesis expresses the idea that through the lens of the European enlightenment modernization, rationalization, combined with the ascent of science and technology, religious authority diminishes in all aspects of social life and governance.[5][6] According to Pippa Norris and Ronald Inglehart, global demographics are complex since "virtually all advanced industrial societies" have become more secular in recent decades while also stating that people with religious beliefs represent a growing share of the world population due to fertility rates.[7]

In recent years, the secularization thesis has been challenged due to some global studies indicating that the irreligious population of the world may be in decline as a percentage of the world population due to irreligious countries having subreplacement fertility rates and religious countries having higher birth rates in general.[7][8][9][10][11] Christian sociologist Peter L. Berger coined the term desecularization to describe this phenomenon.[12] In addition, secularization rates are stalling or reversing in some countries/regions such as the countries in the former Soviet Union or large cities in the Western world with significant amounts of religious immigrants.[13][14] There is no particular monolithic direction or trend for secularization since even in Europe, the trends in religious history and demographical religious measures (e.g. belief, belonging, etc) are mixed and make the region an exception compared to other parts of the world.[15] Global studies show that many people who do not identify with a religion still hold religious beliefs and participate in religious practices.[16][17] The secular vs religion dichotomy is false and neither concept is mutually exclusive.[2]

  1. ^ Latré, Stijn; Vanheeswijck, Guido (1 January 2015). "Secularization: History of the Concept". International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (Second Edition): 388–394. doi:10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.03113-5. ISBN 9780080970875.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Eller was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Bullivant, Stephen; Lee, Lois (2016). A Dictionary of Atheism. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780191816819.
  4. ^ Ertit, Volkan (2018). "Secularization: The Decline of the Supernatural Realm1". Religions. 9 (4): 92. doi:10.3390/rel9040092.
  5. ^ "The Secularization Debate", chapter 1 (pp. 3-32) of Norris, Pippa; Inglehart, Ronald (2004). Sacred and Secular. Religion and Politics Worldwide. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-83984-6.
  6. ^ Hekmatpour, Peyman (2020-06-01). "Inequality and Religiosity in a Global Context: Different Secularization Paths for Developed and Developing Nations". International Journal of Sociology. 50 (4): 286–309. doi:10.1080/00207659.2020.1771013. ISSN 0020-7659. S2CID 219748670.
  7. ^ a b Norris, Pippa; Inglehart, Ronald (2011). Sacred and secular : religion and politics worldwide (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. Chapter 1. ISBN 9781139128674. OCLC 767732041.
  8. ^ Ellis, Lee; Hoskin, Anthony W.; Dutton, Edward; Nyborg, Helmuth (8 March 2017). "The Future of Secularism: a Biologically Informed Theory Supplemented with Cross-Cultural Evidence". Evolutionary Psychological Science. 3 (3): 224–242. doi:10.1007/s40806-017-0090-z.
  9. ^ Zuckerman, Phil (2006). "3 - Atheism: Contemporary Numbers and Patterns". In Martin, Michael (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Atheism. pp. 47–66. doi:10.1017/CCOL0521842700.004. ISBN 9781139001182.
  10. ^ Cultures and Globalization: Conflicts and Tensions edited by Helmut K Anheier, Yudhishthir Raj Isar, SAGE, Mar 27, 2007, page 253
  11. ^ Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century by Eric Kaufmann, Belfer Center, Harvard University/Birkbeck College, University of London
  12. ^ Desecularization: A Conceptual Framework by Vyacheslav Karpov, Journal of Church and State, Volume 52, Issue 2, Spring 2010, Pages 232–270, https://doi.org/10.1093/jcs/csq058
  13. ^ London: A Rising Island of Religion in a Secular Sea by Eric Kaufmann, Huffington Post, February 20, 2013
  14. ^ Assaf Moghadam (August 2003). A Global Resurgence of Religion? (PDF). Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  15. ^ Davie, Grace (2022). "15. Religion, Secularity, and Secularization in Europe". The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Europe. Oxford University Press. pp. 270, 273, 278, 282. ISBN 978-0198834267.
  16. ^ "Religiously Unaffiliated". The Global Religious Landscape. Pew Research Center: Religion & Public Life. 18 December 2012.
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference Unaff Yet Rel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · View on Wikipedia

Developed by Nelliwinne